English
Residents in Nova Scotia are pushing back against a major data centre project announced last week, raising concerns about water supply, energy use, and community transparency. A group of protesters gathered on the Halifax waterfront on Saturday to deliver a direct message to Premier Tim Houston: the proposed development poses serious risks to both the environment and local communities.
The project centers on a $10 billion private investment by energy and infrastructure company EverWind. The company plans to build a large data centre campus at its existing Point Tupper facility. AI development company Anthropic, the creator of the AI assistant Claude, will lease and operate the site.
Stay connected to every major update — subscribe and follow us on the PhoenixQ website and across our social media platforms.
“Canadians are using Claude in growing numbers, and we want our infrastructure to be closer to the people who rely on it,” said Jacob Glick, Anthropic’s head of Canada Public Policy.
A Phased Development with Significant Scale
EverWind outlined a phased construction plan for the campus. The first phase will deliver 95 megawatts of capacity, with work beginning in late 2027. A second expansion targeting 325 megawatts is planned for 2028, subject to regulatory approval. At full development, the campus is expected to reach a total capacity of 420 megawatts.
EverWind CEO Trent Vichie said the project will create up to 2,000 jobs during construction. He added that 215 permanent operating positions will follow once the facility is running. Premier Houston also voiced support, saying the opportunity had been under discussion for about a month. He argued that Canada needs stronger data infrastructure to support healthcare, banking, and government services.
“The data we use every day in our healthcare system, for all our banking needs, for everything on our phones — business is run on data, government runs on it,” Houston said. “We need more secure data infrastructure.”
Protesters Question Jobs, Water and Transparency
However, protest organizers challenged the job figures and questioned who would actually benefit. Co-organizer Ashley Drodge argued the senior positions would come from Anthropic, not from Nova Scotia. She also raised concerns about continued financial dependence on American companies.
“We simply cannot just be continuing to throw our money back at the Americans,” Drodge told Global News.
Organizer Megan Boudreau echoed those frustrations. She pointed to existing water shortages in the region as a reason to be cautious about the project’s demands on local resources.
“We already have wells that are drying up in the summertime. I don’t think we can afford to do this,” Boudreau said. She also criticized the announcement as feeling sudden and poorly communicated to the public.
Water supply is a central concern for residents near Point Tupper. Aidan Pottie, a Port Hawkesbury resident, told Global News that the data centre plans to draw water from Landry Lake — the town’s primary drinking water source. Port Hawkesbury sits less than a kilometre from the Point Tupper site.
“That is our drinking water, that is our shower water, that’s our cleaning water, and quite frankly I just don’t think that’s alright,” Pottie said. He arrived at the protest holding a sign that read “you can’t drink data.”
Residents Say the Process Lacked Openness
Pottie also expressed frustration over what he described as a lack of transparency throughout the planning process. He recalled a recent community meeting where EverWind representatives offered only vague assurances about future updates.
“As we saw yesterday on the news, clearly this has been in the works for months,” he said.
Meanwhile, Glick maintained that Canada sets a high standard for responsible data centre development. He did not directly address the specific concerns raised by local residents.
Despite the deal already being signed, protesters say they have no intention of backing down. Boudreau and Drodge confirmed they are organizing a province-wide protest scheduled for November 7. The Nova Scotia data centre opposition is expected to grow as more residents learn about the project’s potential impact on water, power and local employment.
